The present invention relates to a collapsible rack. In the prior art, racks designed to support a variety of items for display for a variety of purposes are well known. Some such racks are intended to be assembled once using fasteners such as screws, bolts, clips, and others. Other racks have been designed as knock-down items that may be assembled for temporary use and then disassembled for storage or transport. The present invention falls into the latter category.
In the prior art, while it is known to provide a rack that is easily collapsible for storage or transport, to date, Applicant is unaware of any such device in which the shelves are designed for ease of manufacture, the shelves are designed to be collapsible for easy transport, and the support structure for the shelves is also designed for easy erection, collapsing, storage, and transport.
Additionally, when a rack is to be used distant from a central office, for example, at a convention, it is sometimes inconvenient to bring tools along with the rack to facilitate its erection. Thus, it would be advantageous if such a rack were devised that included ease of transport in a small size, but also ease of assembly without the need for use of any tools. It is with these concepts in mind that the present invention was developed.
Applicant is aware of the following documents:
U.S. patents2,680,522 to Temple6,364,137 to Glauth et al.2,793,760 to Zel et al.6,497,331 to Morandi3,252,434 to Young, Jr.6,659,294 to Simard4,169,416 to Haynes et al.6,752,280 to Dye4,226,190 to Ashton6,915,916 to Martins4,978,013 to Hogg7,007,615 to Grueneberg5,775,209 to Tiemann